Shoulder bag



J. MOLINARI SHOULDER BAG Mayr8, 1951 Fil ed Feb. 26, 1948 INVENTOR.Jean/1'4 1210/1310]? BY aria/157's Patented May 8, 1951 I 1 UNITEDSTATES SHOULDER BAG Jeanne Molinari, Zurich, Switzerland ApplicationFebruary 26, 1948, Serial No. 11,077 In Switzerland September 12, 1944Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires September 12,1964 5 Claims.

The present invention relates to a bag and more especially to a bagadapted for use as a pp g bag or on walking or hiking trips and forbeach wear and which is so constructed that it may be supported orcarried in any of several ways depending upon the needs or convenienceof the user.

Shopping bags, as heretofore customarily made, are merely paper orfabric sacks having handles or other means by which they are carried bythe hand of the user and although it is often the case that the shopperwould like to have both hands free such is not possible without puttingdown the shopping bag. Conventional shopping bags are not adapted to becarried in a horizontal position nor are they ordinarily provided withany means for closing the open end thereof and hence any attempt tocarry the same in other than an up right position would result inspilling out some or all of the packages or articles.

The bags that have heretofore been provided for use on Walking or hikingtrips have generally been of the knapsack type and, although providedwith straps or similar supports adapting them to be suspended from theshoulder or upon the back, they are not suited to the everyday needs ofthe woman shopper. They are, moreover, bulky and unattractive inappearance.

The present invention has for an object to provide a bag characterizedby its adaptability to a wide variety of uses and which may be supportedor carried in any of a number of positions with full assurance that thecontents will not slip out of the opening through which they wereintroduced while the bag is being carried. For example, a bag may besuspended from the shoulder and lie in a horizontal position as carried.It may similarly be supported on the handles of a bicycle or it may becarried on the back, and all while permitting the owner to use one orboth hands for other purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bag adapted to besuspended from the shoulder or any other suitable support by means of arope or strap that also acts as a drawstring to open and close one endof the bag at will.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of agenerally tubular bag of net or similar open work construction havingone end permanently closed and the other end openable and closable atwill by means of a drawstring passing through a series of spaced ringsat the openable end of the bag and a ring at the closed end of the bagand wherein the drawstring provides a convenient means for suspendingthe bag from the shoulder or support.

A still further object of the invention resides in an open-endedshoulder bag of such construction that the open end thereofautomatically closes when the bag and its contents are picked up by theshoulder strap or are supported. by the shoulder strap.

A still further object of the invention resides in a bag of the typeabove described which is composed of a light, strong material which canbe folded or rolled into a very small, compact condition when empty andnot in use.

Other objects and advantages will be understood and appreciated by thosefamiliar with this art or will be pointed out hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawing wherein I have illustrated a preferredembodiment of the invention:

Fig. l is a perspective view of my new shopping bag in an open conditionready to receive packages or articles to be carried therein;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a package within the bagwhich is in a closed condition;

Fig. 3 illustrates the manner of supporting the shopping bag from thehandle bars of a bicycle and Fig. 4 illustrates one way of supportingthe bag from a shoulder of the user.

A shopping bag constructed in accordance with this invention has a bodymember II) which is of substantially tubular shape. One end I I of bodymember I0 is permanently closed and the other end I2 is openable andclosable at the will or pleasure of the user. The closed end II isprovided with a ring It which is suitably secured thereto in any desiredmanner such that the bag will not become torn. The openable and closableend I2 of the body member is provided with a series of spaced rings I 4which are secured to the edge of the net-like bag material and theserings, as well as the ring It, may be sewed, tied or otherwise affixedto the bag in any desirable or convenient manner. While I have foundthat metallic rings are especially satisfactory, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not limited thereto since rings of other materialscan also be employed, such as plastic or wood. The rings I3 and I 4 mayalso be in the form of loops of the same material as the bag-i. e.,loops of cotton which may either be secured to the bag or which may bemade as an integral part of the bag in the form of projecting loops. Therings or loops should, however, all be sufiiciently large so as toenable the free passage therethrough of a drawstring I5 of adequate sizeand strength and should also be so constructed and arranged that suchdrawstring can slide relatively easily in either direction. Thedrawstring I5 may be composed of various materials, such as heavy stringor cord, a strip of fabric or ribbon or a leather strap.

The term drawstring is herein employed in a generic sense to include allsuch materials as well as other suitable materials and. the term ring"or rings is likewise used generically irre- 3 spective of the exactnature or construction of the rings, loops and the. like. While I preferto employ an endless drawstring so that there are no knots or enlargedpoints which would inter.-.

fere with the free sliding of the same through the various rings, theinvention is not so limited since drawstrings which have a small knot,

buckle, bow or other means for connecting the ends thereof may beemployed so long asthe same ends .thereofso as to form, in effect, anendless drawstring. The drawstring is preferably applied at the time thebag is manufactured but could,.of course, be subsequently applied or thedrawstring provided by the manufacturer can be replaced by the purchaserwith a ribbon, strap or other suitable or desired drawstring. Arelatively thick or wide drawstring is preferable. since it prov-idesfor better support and since it does not tend to chafe or cut into theshoulder of the wearerwhen the loaded bag. is in. the position, forexample, which is shown in Fig. 4. This feature of the invention,however, is less important when the bag is supported by winding thedrawstring around the handlebars of a. bicycle, for example, as shown inFig. 3.

It will be clear that a bag in accordance with this invention can bereadily opened to insert a package or article therein merely by a simpleexpanding movement at the openable and closable end of the bag. It willbe further apparent that, when the bag is picked up by the drawstringI5, the opened end automatically closes or, if already closed, remainssecurely closed since the weight of the bag and its contents inherentlyresults in the rings 14 being moved into a closely adjacent position asshown, for example, in Fig. 2. Thus, the mere lifting of the bag by thedrawstring l5 insures that the contents of the bag will not fall outregardless of the position in which the bag is thereafter held and hencethe bag can be readily carried in a position suspended from a shoulderof the user, as shown in Fig. 4. If desired, one handof the user can beemployed to grasp the drawstring adjacent the closed end i and thusensurethat movements of the bag will coincide with the movements of theperson car-. rying the sameandtherefore any tendency for the bag to bumpagainst the body of the user is minimized. This is not essential,however, since, the bag will stay in the position of Fig. 4 withoutbeing manually held or guided, Alternatively, one or both of the strandsof thedrawstrings may be placed over the head and held in the. hand whenit is desired that the bag shallbe supported on the back and shouldersas on hiking or walking trips. The bag has the further advantage that itcan be carried on the handlebars of a bicycle or other supporting memberand is preferable to the use of a bicycle basket becausethe packages andarticles cannot be spilled out.

The bag, when empty, can be folded into a small bundle and therefore canbe carried in the ordinary ladies handbag or can be kept on the personfor use whenever needed. The material of the bag is preferably of acoarse mesh such as a fish-net type of construction, and may be formedby hand knitting or by machine knitting. When formed of knitted materialthe body of the bag conforms readily to the shapes and siz s of.

irregularly shaped packages or articles fir of regularly shapedpackages. or articles which, independently of the individual shapesthereof, may

. become assembled in various irregular arrangements in the bag.

It will be noted that, when the bag is in the position shown in Fig. 4,the rings M are all in substantial alignment and, since the drawstring,the rings andthe body member of the bag can be made ofv variousmaterials and of various colors, it will be appreciated that the bag maybe given a highly ornamental and attractive appearance which mayharmonize with the items of wearing apparel worn by the user.

Instead of making the drawstring l5 endless as. shown in thepreferredembodimentabove described and providing a ring l3: at the closed end ofthe bag through which the. drawstring may pass in either direction, itis to. be'understood-that the ring [3. may be omitted, in which case thedrawstring may be fixedly attached at the closed end. This will notinterfere with the functioning of. the drawstring both to automaticallyclose the open end of the bag and also tov act as a. support forcarrying or otherwise suspending the bag.

I claim:

l. A bag comprising a tubular body member having one end which isopenable and closable and having its other end closed, a ring secured.to said closed end, a series of spaced rings secured to said openableend anda drawstring extending through all said rings and slidabletherethrough in two directions. a

2. A bag comprising .a tubular body member one end of which is openableand closable and the other end of which is closed, a ring secured to thebody member at the closed end, a series of rings secured to the saidbody member at spaced points around the edge of the openable. andclosable end thereof and an endless drawstring passing through all saidrings and having intermediate loops extending between the endsof thebody member and longer than the length of the bag, said drawstring beingslidable through said rings in either direction, and said loops servingas carrying means for said bag. r

3. A bag comprising a tubular body member having one end closed and theother end openable and closable at will, a series of spaced ringssecured. at the openable and closable end of said body member, a ringsecured to the closed end-of said body member and a drawstring passingthrough all said rings and along the entirelength of said bodymember,said drawstring having an intermediate portion extending between theends of the body member and adapted to serve-as a shoulder straporlike-support for said has and said drawstring acting to automaticallyclose said bag and, maintain the bag closed when the bag and itscontents are supported by means of said drawstring.

4. A'shoulder bag comprising a body member having one end which isopenable and closable and having its other end closed, a series of ringsdisposed in spaced relation about said open end and a drawstringextending through said rings and slidable therethrough in eitherdirection, said. drawstring being connected to'the closed end of saidbag and having an intermediate portion free: to serve as a carryingsupport for said bag;

5. A bag comprising a body member of pliable material having one endclosed and the other end openable and closable byunfoldingand foldin ofthe material adjacent said other end, a series of rings disposed inspaced relation about said openable end, a drawstring extending throughsaid rings and slidable therethrough, means connecting said drawstringto the closed end of the body member, said drawstring and saidconnecting means cooperating to form an elongated supporting memberadapted to support said body member in ahorizontal position With saidopenable end closed by the Weight of any load carried in the bodymember, said o penable end being readily openable by spreading while socarried.

JEANNE MOLINARI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number D. 147,494

Name Date Eisner -1 Sept. 16, 1947 Molinari Feb. 13, 1951 Kizer Jan. 26,1886 Toney Dec. 4, 1888 Emeric May 28, 1889 Bassett Apr. 1.9, 1904 LeueMay 22, 1906 Jordan Jan. 3, 1911 Humphreys May 12, 1914 Lester Jan. 9,1940 Brady Jan. 1, 1946 Marsico et a1 June 6, 1950

